Lac La Biche - History - Transportation

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Life at Lac La Biche 3

Summer 1875 – Death of Brother Alexis Reynard

[Early this] Summer ... the Roman Catholic Mission at Chippewan on Athabasca Lake sent a small party by boat or canoe to the distant Mission at Lac La Biche. The party consisted of three persons, Frère Alexis, a lay brother, an Iroquois Indian by the name of Michel, and a young woman, an orphan who was to be transferred from one orphanage to the other. At the same time there were two families of retiring Hudson's Bay Company's servants, who had served the Company for some years in the North, and who were going to Lac La Biche to settle - Thomas (I should say Tomas) Huppie and Duncan Tremblay, and their families. These people had a canoe of their own, and were provisioned for the journey by the Company. For companionship and mutual help these people agreed to travel together, little dreaming however of the terrible events that the future had in store for them.

The mode of travel on the large rivers of the North was generally what was called tracking, which in reality was towing (I am speaking of course of ascending a stream). The men comprising the party whose adventures I am attempting to chronicle were well used to the mode of travel, but the season was June at which time most of the rivers of the North were at high flood. On that occasion the river was in flood ... [They had passed Fort McMurray a considerable distance; however] the party made but slow progress against the strong current, consequently their stock of provisions was exhausted ... Game was scarce or the members of the party were poor hunters, so that they soon were reduced to great straits. To make matters worse the Iroquois Michel cast amorous glances at the young woman, and gave the worthy brother who had her in charge no end of trouble.

The retiring servants now counselled returning to Fort McMurray at the confluence of the Clear Water River to obtain a fresh supply of provisions, but to this the brother would not consent. After several days spent in struggling against the current on empty stomachs, with their wives and children clamouring for "bread" (I use the word in its usual sense for in point of fact bread entered very little into the Bill of fare in those days). Finally the voices of the wives and children prevailed over the counsel of the Brother. When the two men finally told the brother that they could stand it no longer, but had determined to return down stream to McMurray for supplies, the Brother said that he would not go back a foot but would press on as well as they could; but he begged of them to strain every nerve to overtake them with provisions which they promised to do, but how far they redeemed their pledges is problematic, for the natives when they have full stomachs are not given to trouble themselves very much about others.

The sequel shows that the Brother was unable to make any headway after the party left them; nothing however can be definitely known. I am unable to state definitely how long the relief party was absent but it could not have been less than ten days - probably fifteen or more.

It is very apparent that the two men, Tremblay and Huppie, anticipated trouble for the good Brother - at any rate when they did at last return, instead of landing at the House River where they left the Mission party they passed by on the other side. They landed their families about a mile above on the North side of the Athabasca and then paddled down stream to the mouth of the House River.

What subsequently transpired can only be conjectured, the men themselves giving very varying accounts. The women, however, on their arrival several days afterwards at the Lac La Biche Mission said that from the place where their husbands left them they could not see the old camp, it being hidden by a bend in the river. About the time that their husbands should have landed, they heard two shots in quick succession and shortly after they saw their husbands paddling for dear life. They said, "they have eaten each other," but were very reticent of what they really saw. The women then stated that they did not camp that night until very late, and pressed on almost night and day, always camping on the North side of the River, until they reached the Mission.

The story that they told with many variations did not at all satisfy the good missionaries who immediately organized a party to go overland to the scene of the tragedy. For this purpose they secured the services of some of the most expert hunters who could be relied upon to follow up trails of man or beast and who were experts in all manner of woodcraft ... The search party had dinner at the Fort en passant.

If I am not mistaken it was the reverend father Leduc who was in charge of the party. He gave me the whole history of the affair up to that time and promised to give me full details of their investigations. He said that there could be no doubt about the murder of the brother Alexis, but they hoped to find the Iroquois and the girl and bring the former to justice.

On his return after an absence of many days he related to me the results of their search. They first visited the camp at the mouth of the House River where they found evidences of one of the most terrible tragedies that has ever blackened the annals of the great West. The skull of the lay Brother was found with a bullet hole which showed that he had been shot from behind. They also found many of the bones, the larger of which had been broken to extract the marrow. The shirt of the victim was also found. Years after when I happened to be the guest of the hospitable Priest at St. Albert, I was shown the shirt. It was cut open down the front and on the sleeves, just as a hunter would take the skin from any animal that he might kill. No doubt the same is preserved as a relic to this very day.

But to return to my tale, several days were spent by the party in endeavouring to find the Iroquois and the girl, but without any success. Evidently after the tragedy, the Iroquois and the girl had gone off together following the river bank for miles, but they had returned to the scene of the murder, but no further trace of them could be discovered. It is very evident that they did not take to the river for the boat or skiff was still there.

Many theories have been advanced as to the disappearance of the Iroquois and the girl but it is probable that only when the graves give up their dead and the secrets of all hearts will be revealed will it be known what became of them. I have a theory which I will give for what it is worth [which I discussed with] ... my very valued friend, the reverend father Leduc, who was in charge of the Mission at Lac La Biche at the time of the tragedy. I ... gave him my ideas on the subject as follows.

The cause of the quarrel, if there was a quarrel, was in all probability the girl. The probability is, however, that there was no open quarrel, but that the Iroquois had shot the brother when his back was turned, but whether the motive was to get possession of the girl, or whether with cannibalistic intent cannot be known. Whether they committed cannibalism at once would seem uncertain. Most likely they fled together along the river, but after walking many miles and being unable to kill any game, the pangs of hunger drove them back to the body of the murdered man. On the flesh they lived for days till the flesh was all consumed and at last they were reduced to picking the bones and extracting the marrow. When so engaged, they were discovered by the men Huppie and Tremblay, who were so startled and horrified that they shot them both and tumbled them into the river, probably tying stones to them to ensure their floating bodies not being discovered, and then they fled. There is a superstition common among the Indians, and also among the Half-breeds who live like Indians, that a person who has committed cannibalism cannot be killed. That would account for the men never camping on the south side of the river.

On the other hand, the Iroquois may have killed and eaten the girl during their wanderings, but it is almost incredible that the Indians and Half-breeds who accompanied the search party found no traces of any strife between the fugitives, nor any trace of her remains.

The worthy "Père" [who I told my theory] did not once interrupt me, but when I finished he merely remarked, "I do not know but what you are right Mr. Traill." Of course, the priests through the confessional learned all that the two survivors and their wives knew but what they learned will never be known by the public.

In conclusion I would say that Mr. H.J. Moberly, who was at that time in charge of Fort McMurray, holds a totally different theory as to the fate of the Iroquois, but his theory in no way accounts for the disappearance of the girl. Furthermore, an Indian who happened on the scene of the tragedy between the return of the men Huppie and Tremblay and the arrival of the relief party openly accused the two men of having disposed of the Iroquois and the girl in the manner I have suggested. He told them that they were both telling a parcel of lies and that they had killed and disposed of the cannibals. He said he knew the facts from the traces he had observed. It is probable that a storm of rain had obliterated these traces between the time of his visit and that of the search party, which would account in great measure for the guides of that party being unable to read the whole of the events by the traces left by the actors in the tragedy.

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